Lere Olayinka, the Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has hit back at Senator Ireti Kingibe over her recent remarks regarding the enforcement of ground rent payments in the FCT.
Olayinka accused the senator, who represents the FCT in the National Assembly, of harboring personal animosity towards Wike, stating that her criticisms are driven more by dislike than legal reasoning.
“She should purge herself of the hatred she harbours against the minister and stop seeing issues from the angle of ‘I hate Wike,’” Olayinka said.
He described Kingibe’s comments on the enforcement of ground rent payments as “ridiculously illogical,” pointing out that the annual payment of ground rent is a legal requirement tied to land ownership.
“It is ridiculously embarrassing that a serving senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, whose duty is to make laws, is ignorant of the provisions of Section 28, Subsections (a) and (b) of the Land Use Act,” he stated.
Olayinka further argued that the senator’s criticisms highlight a lack of understanding of the legal obligations tied to land allocations within the FCT.
According to him, the relevant provisions of the Land Use Act are clear and should be known to a legislator.
“For the education of Senator Kingibe, Section 28, Subsections (a) and (b) of the Land Use Act provides that ‘The government may revoke a Statutory Right of Occupancy on the ground of; (a) a breach of any of the provisions which a certificate of occupancy is by Section 10 deemed to contain; and (b) a breach of any term contained in the Certificate of Occupancy.’”
He continued by questioning whether Kingibe failed to understand that ground rent is one of the terms in the certificate of occupancy.
“Now, is annual payment of Ground Rent not part of the terms contained in the Certificate of Occupancy? Or Senator Kingibe just chose to advertise her myopic attitude to anything Wike?”
Olayinka also mocked what he perceived as the senator’s unrealistic expectations, suggesting her approach would amount to condoning noncompliance by landowners.
“Senator Kingibe should rather have said that land owners in the FCT have rights to refuse to pay necessary bills stated in the Certificate of Occupancy issued to them, and that when they so do, the government should simply pick samba and tambourine, and sing their praises.”
He concluded by raising a hypothetical question to underscore his criticism, asking what Kingibe would do if landowners defaulted on ground rent payments for decades.
“Now, if land allottees refused to pay Ground Rent for 10 to 43 years, Senator Ireti Kingibe will just look away if she was the FCT Minister?”
